Something Extraordinary, or Something Real?
by spiritsunshine
Summary: Clarke Griffin is a 24 year old Art graduate, working a dead-end office job. Lexa Woods is managing an Art Project for the biggest company in the city. Clexa, Raven/Octavia.
1. Chapter 1

_Oh wow. It has been so long since I last wrote anything and I have been so nervous to even post this. I'm sorry if it is awful!_

 _Since I last posted, I have graduated, and have been pretending to be a full time adult (pretending is the key word here). I guess that's where the inspiration for Clarke's situation has come from for this story - I am by no means an artist, but I have felt like the daily office life can be blegh. Also, I started binging the 100 about 2 weeks before 3.07, and I have refused to watch that episode or any afterwards. I promise nothing like that will happen in this story._

 _I don't know how often I will be able to update, but I promise to at least ~try~ for a Saturday/Sunday update..._

/

It was finally Saturday, and Clarke sprung out of bed before her 7am alarm. Usually Clarke was not a morning person - even at 24, she hadn't managed to get into a stable sleeping routine. Sleep was hard when the internet provided so many distractions. Her mum joked that she was just an overgrown child. Her roommate joked that she was secretly a vampire, which, of course, completely made sense given her hatred of garlic. Clarke would just laugh along, shaking her head. Somehow it seemed almost shameful to tell them the truth. The sooner Clarke went to bed, the sooner the next day would start.

Clarke felt that she really had to get out of the dead end job she had found herself in. It was the same old story as so many of her peers - she'd been told her gift for art was something extraordinary. Her parents and teachers had fawned over her work, encouraging to follow her dreams and apply for university. Clarke had poured so many hours of her life, so much of her soul into her degree work, only to find herself faced with a non-existent job market. A choice between a soul-destroying office job and funds for art supplies, or living back at home with no independence or art supplies, well it had seemed logical at the time.

She thought she would be able to put on a smile and just get through every day. She lasted exactly three weeks. Clarke couldn't put her finger on it - was it the endless spreadsheets and meetings or the completely clueless colleagues that made her feel so empty? Clarke had been walking around a mere shell of herself, caught up in the monotony of the office for maybe 17 or 18 months. She had given up counting the months she was caught up in her own personal hell; the only counting Clarke did was the count down to the weekend now.

Given that she was a master of rushing, Clarke was nearly ready less than 10 minutes later. She twisted her hair into a bun, and secured it with a tartan scrunchie she had found in a drawer. She wasn't quite sure where it had come from, but it went nicely with the shirt she had chosen. She decided to give her skin a rest from the make up she would routinely use. Today was all about relaxing, not worrying about appearance. She grabbed her bag and turned to her door, to have it open before she even touched it.

"Morning sunshine! Or should I say good evening?"

"Seriously Rae?" Clarke covered her ears jokingly, before placing her bag by the front door. "Indoor voice please. You know I get tired this late in the evening!"

Raven Reyes beamed.

"Ha! I knew it Griffin! For finally being honest about your status as a vampire, I'm gifting you with this"

Raven held out a cup of coffee, in Clarke's favourite mug, no less.

"Thank you." Clarke took the first sip of her coffee before taking a seat at the table. "How come you're up so early anyway?"

"I could ask you the same question." Raven paused for a moment before a smirk creeped across her face. "But since you asked, I didn't actually make it to bed…"

"Hmm?" The realisation hit Clarke suddenly. "Ah, so your date went well with Leather Jacket girl?! Do you think you're going to see her again? You have to tell me EVERYTHING!"

Raven started playing with her half empty cup. Clarke had known her roommate for years, and had only seen her act like this once before. Raven only acted like this when she had it bad for someone. Clarke only prayed this wasn't another Wick situation. Seeing Raven hurting was like some sort of alternate universe stuff - she just radiated confidence, the Reyes magic.

"Well, we met up at the bar down the street… You know, the one with the neon 'Open' sign…" Raven chewed her lip in thought. "Nope, the name is gone. It doesn't matter - we met and had a couple of drinks. The important thing is she was wearing the leather jacket - to be honest, she was HOT." Raven's eyebrows shot up at that last word. "Seriously Griffin, you have got to see her."

Clarke drained her coffee cup. "I'm sure I will be meeting her if your night went that well. Though I'm convinced that isn't everything…"

Raven clapped in delight. "It's 7:20 and you're already on the ball! Gold star for you! But yes, you're right, I have missed a few details. I was thinking I could come along with you today and see where you hide yourself away on Saturdays."

Clarke took both cups to the sink, buying herself some time. Her art time was precious, it was the one thing she looked forward to every week. However, she did want to hear the rest of Raven's story.

"Okay, but we are leaving now if you're coming."

"Deal." Raven beamed.

Clarke faltered. "Rae, you're wearing the same outfit you went out in last night."

"And I look as hot as I did last night!"

Clarke just smiled at her friend. She grabbed her keys, and her bag.

"Come on Rae, I'll even treat you to coffee on the way."

/

By the time Clarke pulled up at the Starbucks drive through, Raven was already in a deep sleep. Whatever the mystery girl did last night, she wore out Raven. Clarke knew that must have been no small feat. The walls were thin in their apartment, and she knew more about her friend than she would have ever wanted or needed to know.

Luckily, Clarke also knew her friend's Starbucks order. Clarke ordered two Vanilla coffee frappuccinos - large, because the purpose of a Saturday is to have a treat. She put both coffees in the cup holders before carefully continuing her journey. Their destination was only 10 minutes up the road, but it was 10 minutes of extra quiet time.

When she turned off the engine, Raven stirred from her nap. Clarke knew her well enough to put the coffee in her hand - a caffeinated Raven was a happy Raven. Clarke pointed out the path she would be taking to her drawing spot, and told her to take her time. There was no point in having her rush in her post-snooze haze.

With her bag on her shoulder, Clarke followed the path she had walked for so many weeks. The ground was so dry that it was almost dusty, and the tops of the trees met over the path in an archway shape. Clarke's hand found the bushes lining the path, and she let her fingers run along the leaves as she walked, familiar but new. The trees began to clear, and Clarke found herself in the familiar spot she had first found more or less a year ago.

The scenery was stunning. The ocean glittered under the sun's rays. The white sand looked untouched beneath the cliff Clarke was walking along. In fact, it seemed completely isolated, a world away from the never ending daily misery. Clarke noticed that more daisies were scattered in the grass by the bench that she had claimed as her spot than were there the previous week. Fond memories of making daisy crowns in her garden crossed her mind. With a smile on her face, Clarke settled herself down and took a moment to drink in the sight.

Clarke didn't notice Raven joining her 15 minutes later. She had her sketch pad ready, and was concentrating on the shoreline. Ever the perfectionist, Clarke hadn't even made the first stroke. She was always anxious about the first stroke, she felt the need to ensure that it was perfect. Once that was over, the sketch came naturally.

"Earth to Clarke." Raven was suddenly poking Clarke's rib cage. "Did you hear anything I have just said?"

"Of course I did," Clarke turned to her friend, and smiled sweetly, "But who am I to stop you from repeating yourself?..."

Raven rolled her eyes. "You know, I'm convinced there has got to be a way to modify my body so that I can have my eyes roll back far enough to express just how frustrated I am with you sometimes, Griffin."

"They'd never stop rolling. What can I say, I like to excel in whatever I put my mind to." Clarke stuck her tongue out at her friend.

"Whatever." Raven sipped her coffee. "So back to the important stuff. Leather Jacket girl - Ocatvia - ordered a couple of beers, and we were talking about things. Turns out she works for Ark Industries."

"They're only the biggest business in the city, Rae." Clarke pointed out. "I don't know why you're so surprised by that."

"I'm not. You didn't let me finish." Raven paused and gave her friend a stern look. "Am I allowed to continue?"

Clarke let a smile take over her face and nodded.

"Well thank you. Before I was so rudely interrupted, I was going to say that her area is running a community project. Something about not seeming to be a big bad company - all that stuff about the taxes they weren't paying didn't do much good for their image. I'll be honest, I didn't spend a huge amount of time concentrating on her words as such… Basically the long and short of it is that they need artists and I gave her your name."

"Wait, what?" Clarke looked stunned.

"You're an artist. A damn good one. And you need projects to be working on, because sitting here looking out at the same scene isn't doing your sketchbook much good." Raven waved in the general direction of the sketchbook that Clarke rested on her knees. "And Octavia needs artists. Plus she liked the design on my phone case." Raven held her phone up at Clarke as if she had planned that point, with a triumphant smile on her face.

Clarke took her friends phone, and traced her fingers over the pattern. She had designed it with her friend in mind, full of ornate cogs, wrenches and other miscellaneous mechanic's tools. She had assumed that Raven had only used the case when she was with Clarke.

"She seriously liked it?" Clarke couldn't help but keep the hope out of her voice.

"Yes, silly!" Raven threw her arm around her friend. "Of course she did. It's an awesome design. She sent a picture of it to the project manager, and said you would get some feedback at some point in the week."

"Okay…" Clarke could feel the dread fall over her. "What if they don't want me?"

"This is one more opportunity than you had last week. If you don't start putting yourself out there, you're never going to achieve anything in life - you know that right?"

Clarke nodded. Her friend's words were comforting, but it didn't change the face that the possibility of rejection petrified her. She decided it was a good idea to change the subject then.

"You still owe me date details, Rae."

Raven just grinned back at her, one eyebrow raised.

/

Two hours into her work day, and Clarke was feeling pretty miserable. Not only was it Monday, but one of her colleagues had decided to become even more useless with computers than Clarke had thought possible. It was creative though, who knew there were so many ways to mess around with Microsoft Word. The IT department were stretched beyond belief, and took at least three hours to respond to any request, no matter how urgent. Being the youngest in the office, there was an unspoken understanding that Clarke was the unofficial technical support.

"See, Clive, this button here undoes all of the mess." Clarke forced a smile onto her face.

"And I haven't lost my work?" The older man blinked at Clarke.

"No, it's all there. I'd save the file now though, just in case."

The man mumbled his thanks, and Clarke waved it off. She wandered back over to her desk, wondering how soon was too soon for her to be making another coffee. The office clock said 9:34. Clarke promised herself she would have a coffee at 10am.

She settled back into the mind numbing routine of checking two spreadsheets against each other. About a month into the role, Clarke had created and presented a macro that would complete the task instantly to her project manager. He hadn't understood the functions behind the creation, so had refused the proposal. It would have freed Clarke up to work on more challenging tasks, and given her a chance to use her brain a bit more. She had been upset about it, but Raven had assured her that she had done nothing wrong.

Clarke snapped out of the monotony when her phone began ringing. It was a number she didn't recognise, so she braced herself to tell them exactly what they could do with their offer of No Win No Fee accident claims.

"Hello?"

"Hi. Is this… Clarke Griffin?" It was a woman speaking.

"Yes… Can I ask who is calling?"

"Clarke, my name is Lexa Woods, and I work for Ark Industries. How are you today?"

Clarke locked her computer, and went to stand outside the building to take her call. She was a firm believer that work was work, and her colleagues did not need to hear anything about her life.

"I'm really well thank you." Clarke got a few glares from colleagues for taking a phone call while walking through the office. She took no notice - it was none of her business and she had kept her voice down. "How are you?"

"I am good thank you… I'm calling about your art. The submission was… interesting."

"Oh." Clarke's heart fell. "You didn't like it?"

"Clarke. We loved it."

"Seriously?"

"Yes. Not only was the artwork itself intricate and unique, but to present the piece on a phone case? Well, that's a level of creativity beyond our expectations."

Clarke furrowed her eyebrows. Raven hadn't handed over the actual case, she had seen it on Saturday. But Raven had also seen Octavia since then… She made a mental note to pick up some beers for her flatmate on the way home.

"Well I'm glad you enjoyed the piece."

"We did Clarke. We would like to invite you to our offices on Saturday to discuss the projects we have at the moment. Are you available?"

"Yes, I would like that. I'm assuming you mean the headquarters?"

"Yes. I can email you over all of the details. I'm assuming the email address Octavia gave me is correct for you?"

"It's a gmail account - cgriffin92."

"Yes, that's what I have here… Well I'll send this through now, and I look forward to meeting you on Saturday."

"You too. Goodbye."

Clarke made her way inside and back to her desk with a slight spring in her step. She was sure her colleagues had noticed, but she didn't care what they thought of her. Opening her email, she saw the promised message from Lexa.

 _Hi Clarke,_

 _It was a pleasure talking to you today. I've attached the details for Saturday to this email._

 _I look forward to meeting you then._

 _Lexa Woods_

 _Project Manager_

 _Ark Industries_


	2. Chapter 2

_I wasn't sure I'd be ready to update today (I need to get back into planning my writing!) so this is a bit shorter than the first chapter. It's better than nothing though? :)_

 _Also the rating has changed due to the swearing in this - I'd rather have the rating too high than too low :)_

/

Clarke practically skipped into the apartment that evening. She put Raven's beer into the fridge, pausing before closing it. She scanned over the contents of the fridge, a smile growing on her face. It was an apartment rule that Raven did the cooking - she had insisted. But all of the ingredients were here for Raven's favourite spaghetti bolognese. Yes, Raven was an excellent cook, far better than Clarke, but she deserved a night off. Clarke decided to surprise her flatmate.

She put the minced beef in the pan and turned the heat up. Clarke stopped to look at the spice rack. She had seen Raven use spices before when cooking, so she thought it would make the meal that much more special for her flatmate. She chose a few spices and sprinkled them into the pan, careful to return them to the correct place on the rack. Clarke paused, before deciding to wash up as she cooked. It would mean there was less for Raven to worry about.

Clarke waited for the washing up bowl to fill, and put her docked her iPod into the speaker Raven kept in the kitchen. She scrolled through her selection, settling on some Fleetwood Mac. She had spent hours listening to them with her father as a child, and their music had always been a comfort for her. She let herself sing along to the music, absent mindedly becoming more and more aggressive.

 _"And if you don't love me now_

 _You will never love me again_

 _I can still hear you saying_

 _You would never break the chain."_

She didn't know how long she had spent washing up, letting herself get caught up in the music. Clarke didn't hear her roommate come back in, completely immersed in her own world by this point.

"CLARKE! What the hell have you been doing?!"

Clarke's head snapped up. Seeing horror on her roommate's face, she turned to look at what Raven was fixated on. The smoke coming from the burned meat was bellowing, most of it being caught by the extractor fan. Clarke froze.

"Oh shit! What -"

"Out of the way."

Clarke didn't recognise the woman who pushed past her to take charge. She grabbed the pan handle and turned around to face Clarke.

"I said out of the way!" The woman didn't even try to hide the frustration in her voice.

Clarke sidestepped out of her way and she threw the pan and its contents into the sink. Clarke and Raven let out the breath they didn't realise they were holding. There was an awkward silence, until the mystery woman decided to break it.

"Well, that's an eventful way to meet someone." She held out her hand. "Octavia Blake. I've heard a lot about you from Raven, and now I know why none of it was about your culinary skills." A smile formed on Octavia's face, and Clarke felt a lot more comfortable.

Clarke took her hand and shook it. "Clarke Griffin." She looked over at Raven. "I am SO sorry. I just wanted to do something nice for you and I guess I got distracted and ruined everything and I'm sorry-"

"Clarke," Raven cut off her friend with a grin on her face, "this is why we have the rule that I do the cooking. Though if you want to do something nice, I wouldn't say no to a pizza."

/

45 minutes later, Clarke emerged from her room to retrieve the pizzas from the delivery man. She had insisted on cleaning up the mess in the kitchen, hoping the embarrassment would subside. She spent longer than necessary scrubbing the pan; it looked as good as new once Clarke was done. She still didn't feel like she could face Raven and Octavia after the whole scenario.

Raven had told her things were going good with Octavia. They had met up a couple more times over the weekend, and Raven had spared no detail whenever she returned, but Clarke would never have imagined that she would be meeting the mysterious leather jacket woman so soon. She could feel herself slip down the rabbit hole of mortification and self-deprecation over the whole situation, so had decided to sneak back into her room and wait it out. She could then grab some pizza and eat in her room.

Clarke smiled feebly when she set down the boxes in front of Raven and Octavia. "Here it is… I'm so sorry again."

"Don't worry about it. Having pizza is hardly the end of the world." Raven winked at Clarke as she grabbed the first slice. Clarke smirked in return before turning to leave.

"Wait."

Clarke spun around.

"You don't have to go. You should eat with us." Octavia looked up at Clarke with a small smile.

"Well okay. If you both don't mind?" Clarke paused before sitting in her favourite armchair, folding her legs to the side of her.

"So, Clarke, tell me more about yourself." Octavia's eyes were fixed on the blonde.

"Um." Clarke shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "What do you mean? What has Raven told to to ask about?" Clarke shot a look at her roommate.

"I have done nothing of the sort!" As Raven protested, her voice got higher, amusing both Clarke and Octavia. "For once, I am completely innocent in the matter!"

Octavia nodded. "I haven't been told anything. I am just a little interested. It's not very often Lexa Woods is speechless in a meeting before, and I'd like to know more about the artist who did that."

"Oh," Raven turned to Octavia. "You only agreed to have dinner here to meet my roommate? Here I was thinking you just couldn't resist this…" She gestured up and down her body and raised her eyebrows, making Octavia laugh and Clarke wrinkle her nose.

"Gross Rae."

Raven winked at Clarke. "You're just jealous, Griffin."

Clarke stuck her tongue out in return. "In your dreams, Rae."

"Anyway," Octavia started, shifting slightly closer to Raven in subconscious jealousy "She saw your piece with the context Raven wrote and just stopped in the middle of her sentence. In the three years she has worked for me, she has never been stopped in her tracks. Not even when other staff members are criticising her ideas in meetings with bosses. She's ruthless." Octavia caught Clarke's eye. "Whatever you have, it must be special."

"Oh." Clarke paused. "She didn't sound that enthusiastic on the phone."

Octavia shook her head. "She's focused, very professional. Just let your artwork do the talking and you'll see how enthusiastic she is to have you on the project."

/

The week had flown by for Clarke. Nothing different had happened - work, drinks with Raven and Octavia, a visit to her mum's house. Having something to look forward to made all the difference.

Clarke triple checked the information about the session before leaving the apartment, as if the PDF file Lexa Woods had emailed her would have magically changed in the last five minutes.

 _Community Art by Ark Industries_

 _You are invited to Ark Industries Headquarters to participate in a selection of community projects focused around art. Supplies will be provided for the session._

 _Please arrive for 9:15 for a 9:30 start. The session will end at 4:00. Refreshments will be provided throughout the day._

Clarke had a smile on her face as she focussed her attention on her make up. She was just perfecting her cat eye as a Raven opened her door, two coffees in hand.

"Morning!" Raven placed Clarke's coffee by her make up before sitting herself cross legged on Clarke's bed. "How are you feeling this morning?"

"Honestly?" Clarke turned and took a sip of her coffee. "I'm kind of nervous, but mostly excited. I can't believe I get to do something like this."

Raven beamed back at her friend. "Of course you do. You're Clarke Griffin, an amazing artist."

"Rae, if you want to wind me up, please do it once I am back from this session."

"Woah," Raven held the hand up that wasn't clutching her coffee, "Clarke, I promise you I am being honest with you. I wouldn't say you weren't amazing if you weren't. You know me. Seriously just be you and it sounds like you'll impress for definite."

Clarke allowed herself a small smile. "I don't know. I mean it's a community project and yet I'm scared I'm not going to impress or be good enough. What if I'm not? What if I'm too enthusiastic?"

"Clarke. Relax. You have this." Raven paused. "Just be you. Okay?"


	3. Chapter 3

_This chapter is the chapter that we finally get to meet Lexa! I have been so excited to write this, and I've been kicking myself that I didn't get this far in my last chapter. I hope you all enjoy! :)_

 _PS. I'm sorry if my googling of furniture/general DIY things has given me inaccurate names for any piece of furniture/general DIY thing I refer to in this chapter. I'm not an expert on furniture/general DIY things I'm afraid…_

/

Clarke stepped out of her car, out of the comfort of the air conditioning and was immediately hit with the heat. Yes, the news had mentioned that there would be a heatwave, and yes, it had said that today would be the hottest day, but how often could weather forecasts be trusted? Still, Clarke had a momentary thought that maybe she shouldn't have worn her favourite black skinny jeans today.

She was relieved to reach the automatic doors of the building, and to be hit with a pleasant wave of cool air. So relieved that it took her a moment before she started to take in her surroundings.

Clarke knew the building was beautiful from the outside - it had won national awards for its architecture when it had first been completed six years ago - but the inside was like stepping into a dream world. For such a busy company, the ground floor was almost serene. There was a large receptionists desk to the left of the entrance, made entirely of Venetian mirrored glass. Clarke was astounded not only at how beautiful it was, but how spotless it was. Clarke was no stranger to getting makeup on a mirror and the struggle of cleaning it.

When she tore her eyes away from the desk, Clarke allowed herself to take a few more steps into the building. Her focus moved around the room slowly, taking in every detail of the room. The floor to ceiling glass allowed the sun to illuminate the room, the polished floor glimmering as Clarke moved. She noted the visitors seating, polished wooden benches with matching coffee tables. There were potted trees placed around the room too, but they were nothing to the mini forest that appeared to be growing in a large, square area of the room. Clarke let her eyes follow the glass up, and sure enough, the glass panels extended three floors up to meet the ceiling. Clarke followed the glass around to the right and turned the corner.

"You artists are all the same. All in a world of your own."

Clarke near enough jumped out of her skin when she came face to face with Octavia Blake.

"Well, if I wasn't awake already, I am now." Clarke tried to make a joke out of how silly she was convinced she had looked.

"I'm sorry. It was just too easy." Octavia smile got bigger as she saw Clarke's facial expressions. "You can relax now!"

Clarke frowned. "I would relax, but honestly I'm a little bit scared of the combined pranking skill of you and Raven to be honest. I may have to fit a door viewer in my door to check I'm not going to be attacked when I leave my room…"

Octavia let out a laugh. "I think you'll be fine, Clarke. Raven values you as a friend, so we won't do anything too serious!"

The look on Clarke's face made Octavia laugh more.

"Come on, I'll take you to the room where Lexa has set up before we get into any trouble."

Clarke nodded and started walking alongside Octavia.

"Wait, I thought you were the manager here?"

Octavia pressed the button for the elevator, then turned to face Clarke.

"I'm not _the_ manager Clarke. I am, however, the most senior manager here today if you look at the organisational chart, but in reality?... Well, I'll let you make your own judgement."

The elevator doors opened, and the two women stepped into the lift. Octavia selected the button labelled "2", and they waited for the doors to close. Clarke allowed her eyes to glance over the notices on the wall. Apparently Ark Industries had a big campaign to reduce printed emails. Clarke thought silently that her own workplace should run their own campaign to just completely stop emails.

The elevator doors opened. Clarke followed Octavia out of the elevator and to the right down the corridor. There was a set of double doors opened at the end of the corridor. Octavia stopped, and Clarke turned to face her.

"I promised I wouldn't micromanage today, so I'm not going to come into the room with you. It's the one at the end."

Clarke nodded. "I really appreciate you walking up with me, Octavia. Thank you."

"Well," Octavia started, "I wouldn't be doing my job as greeter all that well if I didn't walk down with you."

"Oh." Clarke felt herself blushing, "Um, well-"

"Clarke, I'm kidding."

Clarke let out a soft laugh. Raven really had found a good match in Octavia.

/

"Good morning, I'm here for the Community Art program. Is there anything I need…?" Clarke's question tapered off as she waved her hand in the general area of the table. Less than a minute in and she had already embarrassed herself. Clarke cringed inside, what a way to make a great first impression.

"Hi!" The guy sat at the desk smiled at Clarke. So maybe she hadn't embarrassed herself all that much. Or maybe he was getting paid to be nice? Clarke hadn't felt this stressed for a long, long time. She guessed it was because she hadn't cared about anything this much in a long time. It was dangerous to get invested before she was even guaranteed to be working on this project.

It was a moment before Clarke realised that the guy was staring pointedly at her. She could feel herself blushing. "I'm sorry, what was that?"

"Your name… For the name tags." He pointed down at the tags in front of him, and smiled again.

"Oh… I'm sorry! I'm Clarke. Clarke Griffin?"

He ran his pen down a list and checked off a name, before handing Clarke her name tag with another smile.

"It's lovely to meet you Clarke. I'm Aden, and I will be here all day for any general queries you might have; requests for hard copies of the presentations or extra literature, any extra art supplies, more milk for the coffee, directions to the restrooms… I hope you enjoy your day!" Aden was positively beaming. Clarke was a little bit jealous. If he was even half as happy as he appeared to be right now in his job, he would be at least 10 times happier than Clarke on any given weekday. She made a resolution to start looking around for a job that would make her smile like Aden.

Clarke made her way to the coffee table behind Aden's desk. It seemed like a perfect point in the room to try and weigh up the people who had arrived before her. It wasn't rude to be standing alone while making coffee, nor was it strange. She decided on adding just milk to the coffee after smelling it - the dark liquid smelled rich, just how Clarke liked it. She took her time stirring her drink, glancing up every so often in what she hoped was a subtle manner.

"It's a good spot to stand out of the way, isn't it?"

Clarke's head turned so fast in the direction of the voice that her eyes took a minute to focus. A brunette stood next to her, stirring her coffee and smiling. Clarke could feel herself getting drawn to her.

Clarke allowed her eyes to sweep over the brunette, looking at everything from the intricate braids in her hair to the faint pinstripes on her suit. Her lips, soft and delicate and everything Clarke had ever loved about a woman's lips. And she just about died when she looked at her eyes. Clarke didn't know if she'd ever seen a green so… well, green. She could feel herself falling, and tried to snap herself out of it. Clarke needed to focus today if she wanted to impress.

"It's easy to not be noticed over here," the brunette continued. "I like to observe people - you can tell a lot about somebody by their body language."

"Um…" Clarke swallowed hard, trying consciously to adjust whatever body language whe may have not realised she was displaying. "I wasn't really trying to people watch. I guess I'm just a little bit nervous if I'm honest. I've been putting pressure on myself all week to make today amazing."

"Relax, I'm sure you'll be fine." The brunette took a sip of her coffee. "I mean, it's just a volunteering program, right?" She rolled her eyes.

"Some people might think that," Clarke picked up her coffee, "and I guess technically it's true, but why does that mean I need to put in less effort?"

The brunette raised an eyebrow, before turning to walk away. Clarke furrowed her eyebrows, before draining her coffee. The work hadn't even begun and her brain was already in overdrive. She needed to take a minute to calm down. Looking around, she noticed Aden lift a box of art supplies from under his desk, setting them up on a table across the room. She decided that picking up a sketchpad now would be the perfect distraction. She could get some ideas down and focus her mind elsewhere.

"Hi Clarke! You're eager!" Aden beamed.

"Well, I like to be prepared," Clarke smiled back.

Aden nodded, and checked his watch. "Speaking of being prepared… The introductory presentation is about to start in two minutes. You should sit down now."

Clarke nodded, "Thanks Aden."

Looking at the choice of seats, Clarke decided to go for the second row. Everybody else was sitting much further back in the room, but that didn't faze Clarke. She would have sat in the front row - she always did so at university, much to the teasing and complaints from her friends. However, what Clarke hated most was not having anything to lean on when sketching or making notes. She pulled the chair in front of her a little bit closer, and rested her open sketchpad on the top of the backrest. The pad itself was sturdy enough for it to make a reasonable surface to be working on, as long as Clarke was careful.

Clarke was just finishing setting up as the presentation begun.

"Good morning everybody. I hope you had a good journey in this morning. My name is Lexa Woods and I will be running the presentations and workshops today."

Clarke was stunned when she looked up. In front of her stood the brunette in the suit, with the perfect lips and intricate braids and endless depth to her eyes. Clarke swore to herself. She was screwed.


	4. Chapter 4

_OMG I'm probably really late with knowing this BUT I don't want to get my hopes up because we all know what a little shit is so I can't decide whether I can actually carry on and watch bits of the season finale or whether I'm actually done for good. I did manage to watch 3.07 yesterday, but I may have cried for a good half hour after it ended._

 _ANYWAY, back to this:_

 _This chapter isn't quite as long as the last one, I just felt I wanted to get this conversation down in black and white while I had it playing in my mind. It seemed just long enough for an update to tide you guys over until I can get something longer together… Enjoy! :)_

 _/_

The morning had passed faster than Clarke had expected it to. It turned out that Lexa Woods was just as delightful to listen to as she was to look at. Clarke felt her cheeks burning whenever the brunette laid eyes on her, as if her soul was open for Lexa to read right there and then. The smirk on the brunette's face made Clarke all too aware that her blushing wasn't subtle either. Clarke had decided that the best option was for her to take notes during the presentations. She didn't want to embarrass herself anymore than she had already, especially given that no matter which project she ended up working on, she could end up spending a significant amount of time working with Lexa.

The morning had been an introduction to the projects, and Clarke knew exactly which one she wanted to work on. At the end of the session, Lexa explained that they would indicate their top two choices of projects to be volunteering on on a sheet passed around the room before heading for lunch. Since Clarke was at the front of the room, Lexa handed her the clipboard, brushing her fingers against Clarke's. Her heart jumped into her mouth. The brunette avoided eye contact but wore a smirk on her face. Clarke had no idea whether the brush was intentional or not. She hurried to fill out her choices, then passed the clipboard to the girl in the row behind her.

Clarke made her way to the back of the room, towards the exit. She kept her head down, not wanting anyone to see the shade of red she was convinced her skin was. Unfortunately for Clarke, she wasn't fast enough.

"Hi Clarke" Aden's smile faltered. "Oh, um, is something wrong?"

"No?" Clarke raised an eyebrow.

"Oh. Um… Never mind!" Aden's smile looked forced. "So, the lunch is set out in the canteen, which is just down the end of this corridor."

"Thanks Aden."

Clarke couldn't get out of that room fast enough. She was thankful she had brought her sketchbook, she didn't feel quite so awkward sitting on her own reviewing her notes from the morning as she chewed on her sandwich. Clarke didn't look up until she heard the sound of the chair opposite her being moved.

"Clarke… Do you mind if I join you?"

Clarke shook her head, who was she to turn down an invitation to eat lunch with Lexa Woods?

"So," Lexa pierced a piece of cucumber with her fork, "you weren't kidding about taking this seriously, were you?"

"Nope… I was always told that if you're going to do something, you should put 100 percent effort into it. What's the point otherwise?" Clarke took a sip of her water.

Lexa smiled. "I appreciate that. I don't want people working on these projects that I sold to the upper management if they're not going to at least try their hardest. It's not about the company looking bad when it's volunteering, it's letting down the people that you're supposed to be helping." Lexa picked at her salad. "It's not right, and it's not fair."

Clarke nodded. "I understand. I used to volunteer with older people in university, reading to those who were short of sight, chatting, assisting with making dinners at the community center. One guy, Finn, never gave any indication that he would be quitting the program, he just never came back. I honestly think one lady may have been a little bit heartbroken… I think it's a shame that a lot of people see volunteering just as an opportunity to get experience for a job. You can't play with people's lives like that."

Lexa beamed. "That's exactly the idea I am going for… Lasting positive influence."

The two women sat in silence, both admiring the view out of the window. The window overlooked a square, complete with coffee shops and a restaurant. It looked glorious today, in the sunshine. Clarke thought it must be lovely to have so many options for lunch if you worked anywhere on this business park.

It was Lexa who broke the silence after a few minutes. "So, Clarke, I noticed that your first choice was the Community Art for Children program?"

Clarke nodded. "Yes, I remember having the opportunity to take part in a program just like that after my dad died. I was nine, and art became my escape from reality."

A small smile crept onto Lexa's face, and she reached out to touch Clarke's arm. Clarke felt her stomach dissolve into a thousand butterflies. This was not supposed to happen, Lexa was trying to comfort her over her loss and here Clarke was thinking just how far she could fall for this woman in a day. Maybe it was national "Clarke needs to embarrass herself" day and nobody gave her the memo?

"I'm sorry, I had no idea…"

Clarke brushed it off. "How could you? We met today. We've spoke once on the phone before today for all of, what, five minutes? It's okay, honestly." Clarke smiled.

"You're sure?"

Clarke nodded. "More than. In fact it's more than okay. If I get to help just one child the way Marcus Kane helped me, it's a complete privilege to be working on the project."

Lexa shook her head. "No, the privilege is ours Clarke.." She looked at her wrist watch. "I'm sorry, I need to go and set up the room for the afternoon session… Spoiler alert: you all get to help plan out the projects. As a wise woman once said, 'when working on a project, get the experts and use their knowledge'."

Clarke raised an eyebrow at the brunette. "I don't think I've ever heard that saying before."

"You have." Lexa beamed. "Just now."

With that, she turned on her heel and left the room. Clarke stared after her for a minute, before pulling her phone out. She had a message from Raven that she opened.

 **Rae:** How's it going Griffin?

 **Clarke:** It's been a really interesting morning, I'm looking forward to starting.

 **Rae:** Starting what? The project?

 **Clarke:** Well, yeah. What else?

 **Rae:** Nothing :D xxx

Clarke could feel herself pouting at her phone. She stopped herself and sighed, returning her phone to her bag. She could deal with Raven later; first she had volunteering programs to plan.


	5. Chapter 5

_I am so sorry for how long it has taken me to update guys! In case you haven't been reading my GA fic, basically I've been working both my old job and my new one so my free time has dropped dramatically… But I have a plan for a new writing routine to test this weekend so fingers crossed I can get a couple of chapters written ahead of uploading…_

 _Anyway, here you go. I think you've all waited long enough! Enjoy :)_

/

Clarke stood back and admired the work she had just blu tacked to the wall. She had decided to use paper rather than a laptop to set up a plan for the Community Art for Children program. Consequently, not only had she planned the first ten sessions in detail, noting the themes and supplies that would be needed, but she had also mocked up an elaborate poster for the program too. She had designed it to be in black and white, so any child who received a copy would be able to colour the design in. Clarke smiled. It had been so long since she had done something so meaningful, something so worthwhile.

"Wow."

Clarke jumped out of her skin, her heart racing. She looked around just in time to see Lexa Woods move to stand next to her. Clarke could swear their arms were almost touching. The air between the two women felt electrified. She had to take a moment to calm her nerves, as she was sure anything she said would come out in a shaky voice.

"You mean that? You really like this?"

Lexa nodded. "Yes." She stepped forward, allowing her fingers to lightly trace over the design Clarke hadn't long finished. "The detail on this design… You must be really good with your hands…"

Lexa paused for just long enough to allow Clarke to turn crimson. Although the brunette didn't turn around, Clarke would have sworn that she was wearing a smirk on her face.

"Steady, I mean. Not many people could be this precise." Lexa turned around, her face in mock surprise. "Clarke, you're blushing… I'm sorry, was it something I said?"

Clarke stood wide eyed, not able to answer for a moment. Was this woman seriously doing this? Clarke was pretty sure this sort of thing had happened in the last bad romance novel she had read, but somehow Lexa didn't strike her as the romance novel type.

Finally pulling herself together, Clarke mustered a response. "It's okay. I guess I just don't do too well with complements…"

Lexa raised an eyebrow. "With work like this, I'm surprised you're not more used to having complements. In fact, if all your work is like this, I'm surprised you don't ask people outright to stop complimenting you."

Clarke's cheeks began to burn again. She fixed her eyes on the drawing in front of her in an effort to not blush so furiously that a blood vessel would burst in her cheek. Clarke wasn't sure if that could even happen - she would have to ask Raven later. Clarke thanked whichever higher power was listening that Lexa decided to continue without mentioning the blushing.

"I'm thinking we are going to need Aden to arrange for this to be copied to a paper size that's a bit more portable for the children to take home with them… As much as I love this, I don't think A1 is exactly practical. Maybe A5..." Lexa smiled. "Don't worry though, he's a genius with this sort of thing, the design will still have detail. I can get a copy emailed to you by Tuesday?"

Clarke nodded. "That would be good."

"Then it's a plan."

/

"Griffin! How was your day?"

Clarke was greeted by a vocal Raven, sprawled across the sofa, bottle of beer in hand, TV remote resting on her abdomen.

"More productive than yours I'm guessing." Clarke smiled. "You want another beer?"

Raven gave Clarke the thumbs up. Clarke took that as her cue to grab two bottles from the fridge and open them. She then returned to where Raven was lying, and held her beer hostage until she moved her feet. With an overdramatic sigh, Raven pulled herself up, sitting cross legged and facing Clarke. Clarke sat down, mirroring Raven, and handing her the bottle.

"So. Give me all of the details." Raven took a swig from her drink.

"So, I arrived and bumped into Octavia…" Clarke studied the smirk on Raven's face. "But you already knew that, didn't you?"

"Ah. She might have mentioned it when she called me earlier… She said you guys had a nice chat?" Raven raised an eyebrow.

"Well, yes." Clarke paused to drink from her bottle. "She just showed me to the right room for the session and gave me some advice. It was really nice of her, she didn't have to do it."

"I'm so glad you guys get along. It's nice to not have you lowkey hating someone I'm dating." Raven picked at the label on her beer bottle. Clarke had disliked her last boyfriend Wick, and the feeling had been mutual, to the point where Raven had actually started to spend less and less time at her home with Clarke.

"Well Rae, I just don't get the impression that she's going to be a cheating scumbag like Wick was." Clarke smirked.

"Ouch. But I appreciate you looking out for me Griff." Raven beamed. "So you got to the room, and then what?"

"I checked in, and the guy who did the admin was like freaky happy. He was working on a Saturday and he was happy. I mean, who is even happy working on a regular weekday?!" Clarke pulled a disgusted face, and Raven laughed. "Anyway, I went to get a coffee and scope out the other volunteers, and this woman comes up to me. She started talking about body language and how it was just a volunteering program so wasn't really important. Guess who it turned out to be?"

"Who?"

"Only Lexa Woods."

Raven's jaw dropped. "As in the badass business woman who isn't impressed all that easily?"

Clarke nodded.

"So how was everything with her?" Raven started smiling.

"Good. I mean, she was kind of intense, but in a good way." Clarke paused, deep in thought. "She's focused, she's passionate. It was amazing to get to talk to someone who actually cares about what they're doing within the workplace. Cares about making a difference."

"Griff, you like her!" Raven pointed at Clarke.

"What?!" Clarke felt her cheeks begin to burn for the umpteenth time that day.

"You have that smile on your face when you like someone but don't want to admit it." Raven smiled. "And I'll be completely honest… Octavia showed me a picture of her, and I'll be honest, she's hot. You would have to be blind to not like Lexa."

Clarke smiled, eyes fixed on the sofa cushion by her knees. It was a moment before she looked up.

"Wait. Raven?"

"Hmm?" Raven took another long drink of her beer, putting the empty bottle down on the coffee table.

"You didn't happen to plan the volunteering thing with Octavia because you wanted me to meet someone, did you?"

It was Raven's turn to fix her eyes on the sofa cushion. "No, why?…"

"You've been going on for weeks about how I have to put myself out there. I thought you just meant creatively until now though…" Clarke's voice tapered off.

"Well, yes creatively." Raven looked back up at Clarke. "Look, Griff. We talk about our dreams and ambitions. I know you want to think about doing something arty. This seemed perfect when Octavia mentioned it… I swear I didn't see the photo until last night."

"Okay." Clarke smiled, a glint in her eye. "It's not like I mind. Like you said, she is hot. Just, if you do that again to me and don't warn me…" Clarke sighed. "I made a complete fool out of myself today. Think clutz times 100. That was me today."

"Oh you're adorable when you're clutzy" Raven reached out and pinched Clarke's cheek. Clarke swatted her hand away.

"Ugh. No I don't want to be clutzy!"

"Well then," Raven beamed, "I guess I'll just have to teach you the Reyes method… Guaranteed to get any guy or girl!" Raven winked.

Clarke kicked her friend softly. "I hate you."

"You love me."

"Hmph."


	6. Chapter 6

_Sorry about the delayed update guys! I've been struggling to concentrate on anything for more than about 5 minutes at a time - this is the third time I have rewritten this chapter. Believe me, you wouldn't have wanted to see the first two drafts!_

 _Also, this chapter has a game that I used to play at uni. If anyone hasn't tried this or anything like it, I suggest you try it on a night where you don't have to be anywhere, do anything or communicate with anyone the next day..._

 _I hope this has been worth the wait though… Enjoy :)_

/

Clarke sat at her desk, watching the emails fly into her inbox. Work didn't seem too painful for a Monday. She actually hadn't minded getting up today, still coming off the high of spending her weekend doing something exciting and new. Even the morning small talk in the kitchen hadn't been painful like it usually was. Clarke was usually embarrassed to admit that she spent most of her weekend either alone or just with her roommate, rather than doing something exciting like everybody else seemed to be. She didn't have kids to treat or a big house to decorate or a huge number of friends to see. Clarke was just… Clarke.

But today she stopped in the kitchen to tell computer illiterate Clive about the program she was helping out with when he asked about her weekend. She even genuinely smiled when the man from finance who appeared to still be living in the 1970s joined the conversation. Clarke usually couldn't stand him, with his condescending pet names and looks of shock when something came of a woman's mouth that was correct. She had been told by so many people that there was one of these in every office; a fossil who has worked for the company for so many years it's impossible to imagine him ever leaving and impossible to ever complain about him.

Of course, nothing could stop Clarke from plugging her headphones into her iPhone and listening to the playlist Raven had made for her on Spotify when Clarke had left her phone unlocked and docked into the speaker. She may have complained that Raven had messed up her listening stats, but she actually kind of enjoyed the playlist full of cheesy pop songs. Clarke tried not to let her smile grow too big when Spice Girls 'Wannabe' came up on shuffle. She had good memories of the day both her and Raven had handed in their final projects at university. They had gone out, done shots and danced on the table at the local nineties bar. Clarke had never laughed so much in her life.

The smile dropped from Clarke's face when a call came in from an unknown number, interrupting her music. Clarke sighed, wondering what kind of accident the caller was going to ask her about or whether she had a huge memory lapse and bought some PPI at some point. She felt bad for the callers, they were only doing what their employers asked them to, but the insistence of the companies to call again and again was tiring.

"Hello?" Clarke answered her phone, talking into the microphone. She had a funny look from computer illiterate Clive, who clearly hadn't grasped the concept of using the headphones of the phone as a hands-free system.

"Hello, Clarke." Clarke thought she recognised the voice, but didn't want to get her hopes up. "It's Lexa… Woods. From Ark Industries."

Clarke allowed the smile to grow again on her face, earning herself another strange look from Clive. She locked her computer and left her desk before continuing her conversation.

"Hi Lexa. How are you?"

"I'm very well thank you. Yourself?"

"Yes, I'm good too."

"Only good? Well, lets see if I can help improve that... Check your email Clarke."

"Okay, give me one minute."

Clarke scrolled through the email client on her phone, seeing an email from Aden. She opened it and downloaded the attachment. Her mouth dropped open.

"Is this really it?"

"Yes." Clarke thought she could hear the smile in Lexa's voice, and smiled herself. "I had Aden take this to be scanned and digitally refined. We haven't lost a single stroke of detail on the piece."

"I… I can't believe it. It's extraordinary."

"No Clarke. Your work is extraordinary…"

Clarke stood in silence, not quite knowing how to take the compliment. She allowed Lexa to continue.

"This is only the scan though, we have ordered the prints. They're due to be ready on Saturday morning, if you would like to be there?..."

"I would love to be there."

"Well, I will see you at 10 am in the foyer at Ark industries then."

"I look forward to it." Clarke was glad that Lexa couldn't see her blush. She mentally chastised herself for being so forward. Why would she even do that? Why couldn't the floor just open up and swallow her right there and then?

"Goodbye Clarke."

"Bye, Lexa."

Clarke hung up the call, thankful that Lexa had been professional enough to not pick up on what Clarke had said. She wasn't sure she could show up on Saturday without furiously blushing. Clarke made a mental note to find a heavy duty concealer, she was sure there must be something effective enough to hide any blushing that was sure to occur. She leaned back against the wall, and made another phone call.

"Yo, Griff!" Raven answered, sounding cheery as usual. Clarke could hear the sound of some machine or another in the background. Raven had tried to teach her about the different machines, sounds and purposes when she had taken the position at her company, but Clarke had glazed over during the whole conversation. Clarke wasn't even 100% sure she knew what Raven did at work.

"Hey Rae. I've decided we are going out for a drink tonight."

"Wait, what? A drink? On a school night? Who are you and what have you done with Clarke Griffin?"

"Oh shut up. I'm thinking we can go out at about 7? We don't have to stay out late."

"You don't need to persuade me. I'm not fussed with how late we stay out."

Clarke smiled. "Okay. I will see you at home then?"

"You bet."

Clarke hung up the phone again with a smile on her face. A smile that didn't falter for the rest of the day.

/

Clarke stopped dead outside the bar that Raven had took her to. Raven had refused to tell Clarke where they were going, instead just stating that she had a better idea than the quiet bar at the end of their street that was boring. Clarke had countered that she enjoyed quiet and boring, and really on a Monday quiet and boring was more than acceptable. As always, Raven won Clarke around to her way of thinking. "Lets try it… You haven't even been to this place, you can't say you don't like it… Come on, we're celebrating."

So when Clarke found herself stuck in position looking at the bar, mouth slightly open, she wasn't sure whether to question her roommate or her own lack of resolve when debating about a venue to visit.

"Um, Rae? This doesn't look like a quiet bar."

It looked like it was dark other than the disco lights which were on inside the venue, and people were dancing. Clarke could hear the music playing from her position on the street. Raven turned around to face her, and laughed.

"Oh Griff, if only you could see your face right now." Raven walked towards Clarke, and threaded her arm through Clarke's, walking her towards the entrance. "It's a bar that just happens to have a dancefloor and a DJ." Raven pulled a face. "Sure, it does seem to get the party started a little earlier than I would usually go for, but it looks like it's going to be a fun night!"

Raven burst through the doors, and dragged Clarke to the bar.

"I'm getting the first rou-"

"Raven!" A brunette ran into Raven's arms, and it took her a moment to register that the brunette was Octavia Blake. They broke apart slightly, allowing themselves room to maneuver into a kiss. Wanting to look anywhere other than at her friend, Clarke turned to face the bar, ordering two bottled beers from the barman.

"Make that three. I've got these."

Clarke turned her head, finding herself face to face with Lexa, who was smiling.

"Oh, um, hi Lexa. You don't have to."

"Hello Clarke." Lexa smiled. "I didn't realise you'd be here. And it's a free bar." Lexa winked.

Clarke let out a giggle, grateful that the bar wasn't light enough for Lexa to register the blush that was currently gracing her cheeks. "I didn't realise I'd be here... " Clarke looked around. "What even is this place?"

"It's a pretty decent bar actually." Lexa took a swig of her beer. "About once a month, Ark Industries puts on a staff party like this for us. For staff morale. We all finish work early, then this place is open for us until about 11. They don't usually open on a Monday…"

"Oh." Clarke took a drink of her beer. "That's pretty cool." Clarke felt herself cringe. What was she doing using words like cool in front of someone who was the epitome of cool?

Lexa didn't even notice. "Yes, I mean, how many people can say they have done shots with their boss? Plus they buy us hangover coffee and breakfast too…"

Clarke's eyes widened. The most she had ever got when going to work hungover was reprimanded. The more she was seeing and hearing about this big corporation, the more she was questioning how long she could stay at her own company. The benefits would be there: opportunities for development, they clearly value creativity… Clarke was pulled from her thoughts by Raven and Octavia simultaneously tapping on her shoulder.

"Hey, we heard shots!" Raven looked excited.

Clarke and Lexa exchanged a glance.

"Okay."

Octavia spoke up. "We're gonna play a game called shot master. We go alphabetically, and the master of that round chooses the shot. The shot master can also choose for somebody to take two shots if they can think of a valid reason. However, you cannot use the reasoning that someone made you drink two shots on their round. So, going by first names… Clarke, it's your turn."

Clarke didn't want to be the one to back out of the game. She scanned the shelves behind the bar. "Okay. we're doing sambuca, and Raven will be drinking two because I said I wanted a quiet drink tonight, and here I am." Clarke stuck her tongue out at Raven, who pouted in return. "That's within the rules, right?"

Octavia nodded, and ordered 5 sambuca shots.

Clarke was going to have the mother of all hangovers tomorrow.


	7. Chapter 7

_I had this idea while writing the last chapter and just had to put Clarke through a little bit of embarrassment :) I love her, but this chapter has had me particularly inspired to write this chapter far faster than I have updated this fic before. Maybe she needs more drunken nights out and morning after shame..._

 _/_

"There's nothing like a nice refreshing morning is there?"

Clarke had always had vivid dreams. She could hear the people in her dreams, actually hear their soft voices, as if they were whispering secrets to her that noone else could hear. She could feel a presence next to her. She could smell the flowers, or her father's cologne, or the freshly brewed coffee that was currently warming her hands quite perfectly. She could almost feel the sunlight hitting her for the first time that day, as if the curtains were being drawn back.

Wait. Was this really a dream?

Clarke didn't dare open her eyes, instead using her foot to gingerly feel around the bed. There was definitely an indent to her right, but not a huge one. Maybe Raven had crashed in her room last night? Maybe Octavia didn't stay the night like Clarke had assumed she would? Clarke risked opening her eyes, only slightly, to a squint, and jumped out of her skin at the sight of Raven most definitely not next to her, instead standing over her.

"Morning Sunshine! Brought you some coffee, thought you'd need it after last night." Raven winked.

Clarke risked a look to her right. She saw a mass of dark curls. Oh crap.

Clarke turned her head slowly back to face Raven. "I didn't… Did I?" Clarke tried to keep her voice as low as possible.

Raven opened her mouth to answer as the woman next to Clarke began to stir. Panicked, Clarke decided to slowly get up, not trying to wake the woman. She had a sneaking suspicion who she had woken up next to but wasn't completely sure what had happened. Sure, she was wearing her knickers and cropped tshirt, but they weren't exactly modest. Clarke felt the shame of the night descend on her, mentally telling herself that she was stupid to have gotten herself into such a state and what the hell was she doing with her life. She was grateful that Raven was used to her sleeping attire, because she sure as hell didn't need any sarcastic comments right now.

Clarke opened her door as quietly as she could, and almost walked straight into Octavia.

"Oh crap!"

"Shh!" Clarke looked manic, her eyes wide. She pushed Octavia gently, making the brunette take a step back, allowing Raven room to follow and shut the door quietly behind her.

"So, it looks like you two had a good night." Octavia smiled, taking in Clarke's outfit. She turned to Raven. "I told you those two would get on well, didn't I?"

"What?" Clarke looked between the two women, who seemed to be sharing a secret. "What do you mean you told her I would get on well with…?"

"Oh Griff." Raven shook her head in mock disappointment. "Don't tell me you've forgotten the name of the woman you fell into bed with?"

Clarke stood, paralysed with shock. It took her a moment to collect her thoughts. "You guys are telling me that the woman in my bed is-"

"Ooh, don't finish that yet!" Raven turned to Octavia, eyes wide in excitement. "We're about to see Clarkey admit her feelings finally!"

"What?" Clarke raised an eyebrow.

Octavia smiled. "Raven and I had a little theory. How about we talk about it over breakfast? You need to start getting ready for work."

Clarke glanced at the clock. It was quarter past 6, right on time for her to be stepping into the shower for work. Clarke nodded and turned to move towards the bathroom. She froze a moment later, and turned on her heel.

"Wait. Why are you two up so early?"

Raven and Octavia exchanged a glance and a smile. Raven looked Clarke dead in the eye, while Octavia's cheeks flushed ever so slightly. Clarke would never have suspected she was the blushing type.

"Well, Griff, you're not the only woman in this apartment capable of having all night fun with the ladies, if you know what I mean…"

Clarke turned and hurried to the bathroom. As she locked the door, she resolved to have an early start at work this morning. If she took her make up with her, and just threw her hair up today, she could be at her desk by 7. Clarke looked herself in the mirror as she brushed her teeth. Was she really becoming one of those people who would hurry into work to avoid another problem? She spat out the toothpaste and reached for her mouthwash. Yes, yes she was.

As she stepped into the shower, and let the hot water run over her body, Clarke felt the initial adrenaline from the morning drain from her body, running straight down the plughole with the soap suds. Instead, she was coated in pure mortification. Clarke couldn't believe what she had done, resting her forehead against the tiles on the wall.

"Clarke, you are so fucking stupid sometimes. Why would you even do that? Seriously you need to just stop doing things."

"Excuse me?"

Clarke heard a familiar voice through the door and froze in horror. She hadn't expected anyone to hear her talk to herself over the running water. Raven had never mentioned hearing her before, so Clarke assumed that she was always quiet enough to not be heard. Now she had not only embarrassed herself with last night, but she had been outed as a complete weirdo. Clarke opened her mouth in a silent scream, before shutting off the water and stepping out of the shower. She wrapped herself in her towel and grabbed her clothes, taking a moment to compose herself before unlocking the door.

"Morning, Clarke."

Clarke blushed furiously. She did not imagine Lexa Woods seeing her in less clothes than socially acceptable in the street in this scenario. Clarke had hoped (but would never admit to Raven or Octavia) that it would have been more along the lines of some kissing, maybe some dirty talk and definitely fingers exploring-

"I thought I heard something… Are you alright?" Lexa looked genuinely concerned.

Clarke nodded. "I just got a little bit of shampoo in my eye." Clarke threw her hands up in the air and smiled. "You know how it is!"

Lexa smiled. "I do."

"So…" Clarke gazed into Lexa's eyes. "I should… um…" She pointed at her room.

"Go. Get ready." Lexa nodded, slipping past her into the bathroom.

Clarke could feel two pairs of eyes on her. She turned to look at Octavia and Raven, who had seen the whole interaction with Lexa. Octavia had an almost sad look on her face. Raven, on the other hand, was loving it.

"Smooth, Clarke." Raven grinned.

Clarke scowled at her roommate as she walked past, hating that Raven was right.

/

Clarke emerged from her room only 15 minutes later, hair up, make up bag in hand and on the prowl for some coffee. Sure, Raven had let her smell the coffee, but she hadn't blessed her with a cup of her own. Clarke was considering demoting Raven from number 1 awesome roommate to just number 1 mediocre roommate. There were things that couldn't be compromised in life, and for Clarke, coffee was one of them. She put her make up bag safe in her handbag, determined to not forget it, before going in search of some caffeinated goodness.

Clarke didn't have to search far. Apparently her need for caffeine was so great that Clarke had developed some sort of magnetic power that brought her coffee to her. That magnetic power may otherwise have been known as Lexa.

"Here." Lexa handed Clarke the cup of steamy goodness, made to meet Clarke's exact idea of coffee perfection. Clarke nodded her thanks, choosing to sip rather than speak.

"So, Raven and Octavia said you work over in the Easttree area?" Lexa watched Clarke with her drink.

Clarke nodded again. "Yes. At Exodus Ltd."

"Oh, I've heard about them. You guys design and produce the packaging for a quite a few local companies, right?"

Clarke nodded slowly, with a slightly raised eyebrow.

"I bet you're one of their best designers." Lexa smiled.

Clarke shook her head furiously. "No, no! I don't design!..." Clarke looked down at her drink, suddenly embarrassed about how she had reacted to Lexa's question. "The design team is a group that has worked together for years. I just make spreadsheets."

Lexa furrowed her brow. "What a waste of talent… They don't know what they're missing, Clarke."

"Really?" Clarke looked back up at Lexa.

"Really." Lexa nodded.

The two stood there for a moment, in comfortable silence. Clarke allowed herself to get lost in the silence, forgetting about the awkward mistakes she had made when talking to Lexa. It was only when Raven came out of the living room that the silence was broken.

"Um, work?" Raven's eyebrows were high, her hands thrown up in the air.

"Shit!" Clarke grabbed her bag and turned for the front door. She stopped when she felt a hand grab hers.

"Wait." Clarke turned to see it was Lexa who had reached for her. "Clarke, you're getting a taxi with me. I live over in that direction. I need to go and get changed before heading into work and there is no way you're driving after last night. You're probably still way over the limit."

"But how will I get home?" Clarke's voice was higher than normal when she spoke, being slightly frustrated with herself for being late.

"I'll bring you home." Lexa smiled, before dropping Clarke's hand to dial the number of a local taxi company. Clarke couldn't help but feel a little bit disappointed. "It's the least I can do after you let me crash here."

"That was no trouble, really." Clarke rushed to get her words out.

"But I appreciate it." Lexa touched Clarke's arm again. "I want to say thank you, so let me help you out."

Clarke nodded. "Okay."


End file.
